Dissertation_Dr Faisal Almubarak

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mosques and the like. The number of residential lots jumped from 2,382 in 1972 to
10,930 in 1989 (Figure 7.10). 40
The outcome has been a continuous process of peripheral land growth, though
considerable platted land lay undeveloped in Arar proper. The number of construction
permits issued by Arar's municipality increased steadily from 87 permits per year in 1973
to and peaked at 1,598 in 1977 (Table 6.1). To meet the rising demand for land by citizens
who sought the benefits associated with the REDF loans, in particular, and other
government promotional subsidies, in general, Arar's Municipality distributed land free of
charge to qualified applicants as shown in Table 7.2.
Table 7.2
Land Subdivisions, Commercial, Recreational and Industrial
Subdivisions Approval Date Number of Developed Vacant Lots
lots Lots
Old Arar* Pre-1970s 3,300 3,000 300
Al-Mosadiyah 1977 895 785 110
Al-Faisaliyah 1977 2,058 1950 108
Al-Aziziyah 1980 1,185 1,031 154
Al-Salehiyah 1981 3,340 541 2,799
A1 Mansuoriyah 1988 1,634 na na
Badanah 1988 962 na na
Arrabowah 1989 822 na na
Commercial (area)** - - 9.5 hectare
Parks (area) - - 23.9 hectare
Industrial Uses
-
520 na
* "Old Arar" denotes Mohamaddiyah and Al-Khaldiyah residential communities which
include the "Tapline Houses" and land subdivisions that were part of the 1960s Plan. **
The Municipality builds and leases at nominal prices the majority of Arar's commercial land
uses.
The process of land subdivision surpassed Doxiadis' 840 hectares for a population of
31,100 by the year 2,000. By 1986, Arar's population rose to 65,000 and the city's land
uses covered an area of 2,600 hectares, thanks to the unchecked process of land
subdivision and the conversion of large tracts of public land which surrounded Arar to
specific "government land" uses (Table, 7.2 and 7.3).
G. The Urban Domain, 1980s
The oil-related dramatic changes of the 1970s and the 1980s bestowed Arar with a 24
percent population growth rate per annum, higher than the nation's capital, Riyadh, whose
annual growth rate peaked at 9 percent. Table 6.2 exhibits the phenomenal increase in